Saban Films has purchased Kevin Smith’s Jay and Silent Bob Reboot, the sequel to the 2001 comedy Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back. It’s been nearly two years since Smith shared the news on his Instagram that he wasn’t able to make Clerks III or Mallrats 2, but was instead creating a sequel to Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back.
Easily Smith’s most famous creations, Jay (Jason Mewes) and Silent Bob (Smith) were first introduced to audiences in Smith’s 1994 breakout hit Clerks. The pair would go on to appear in many of Smith’s later films: Mallrats, Chasing Amy, Dogma, Clerks II, and of course, Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back – a film centered focused on the duo and their journey to Hollywood to stop the production of a film based on themselves. The sequel will “take jabs at reboots, remakes, and sequels while simultaneously being all three at the same time,” per the press release.
President of Saban Films Bill Bromiley had this to say, “Jay and Silent Bob is a global franchise which has a very loyal fan base. Partnering with Kevin at script stage on the next chapter of these iconic characters is a huge milestone. This is the beginning of a new initiative at Saban Films, to partner on IP with seasoned filmmakers and talent early on in the creative process all the way through distribution.”
Last February Smith suffered a major heart attack that was nearly fatal and in response lost an astonishing amount of weight and made some serious changes to his lifestyle. This near-death experience influenced his work on the script. “Last February, I almost died. So on the one year anniversary of my widow maker heart attack, as a celebration of life and a big ol’ F you to Death, my best friend and I will be rolling cameras on a sequel/remake/reboot of a movie we first made nearly twenty years ago!”
“In Jay & Silent Bob Strike Back our herbal heroes found out Hollywood was making a movie based on them, so they journeyed out to Hollywood to stop it. But I’ve learned so much as a storyteller and have grown immensely as a filmmaker since then, so audiences can expect something completely different: In Jay & Silent Bob Reboot our herbal heroes find out Hollywood is making a reboot of the old movie that was based on them, so they journey out to Hollywood to stop it again. I offer my (literal) undying thanks to our amazing partners at Saban and Universal for making this dream come true and backing this cinematic silliness!” Smith added.
“I’m tired of doing Shakespeare all the time so it’ll be nice to get back to playing Jay again. It may be 25 years since I first played the idiot man-child from Jersey but this time’s going to be the best because I’ve really grown into the role of idiot man-child in my old age.” said Mewes.
Saban Films will hold North American rights to the film, while Universal Pictures Home Entertainment Group has acquired all foreign rights. Producing the film will be Jordan Monsanto of Smodco, alongside Elizabeth “Liz” Destro, owner of the production company Destro Films, known for Life After Beth, Life of Crime, and Cake.
Fan-Owned Legion M has joined Hideout Pictures and Skitbags Entertainment as equity financing partners for the film. You can watch Smith and Mewes speak about the film and Legion M in this video below:
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